❓ Mr. Morton asks about the Better Bins pilot program and its impact on recycling. The Minister details the $7.5 million grants program, its goals for increased recycling rates through source separation (three-bin system), and the significant community interest it has generated.
AnsweredQoN 323Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BETTER BINS PILOT PROGRAM
323. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for
Environment:
Could the minister please update the house on the Better Bins
pilot program that he launched in January and how will it assist in our
recycling efforts?
Ms M.M. Quirk :
What a rubbish question!
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I now call you to order for the second time.
323. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for
Environment:
Could the minister please update the house on the Better Bins
pilot program that he launched in January and how will it assist in our
recycling efforts?
Ms M.M. Quirk :
What a rubbish question!
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I now call you to order for the second time.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I am already hearing
some amusement and mirth in the chamber. Members may well remember that I
answered a similar question on waste last year in and around mattresses. I was
continually reminded of that question. Clearly, it stuck in members'
minds; in fact, I was reminded of it for the rest of the year. I have since
discovered, after doing a lot of work in the waste area, that this is certainly
an issue in the community's mind as well because when I announced a
$7.5 million grants program towards Better Bins earlier this year, Channel Seven
had to run a second story the next day because it had the single biggest number
of hits on its Facebook page for any story it has run so far. This is certainly
an issue of grave importance to the community.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : It is an issue that members perhaps should listen to closely
because, clearly, people in their communities are taking a very active interest
in this issue.
As I said, we announced a $7.5 million
grants program towards better kerbside recycling practices in local
governments. This Liberal–National government has very ambitious
recycling targets—50 per cent of our metropolitan kerbside waste being
recycled by 2015.
A significant resource value in this state every year is
landfill and opportunities to capture that through recycling is what our entire
waste strategy is about and certainly what this program is about. This state
significantly lags behind other mainland states in resource recovery rates. The
latest national tables that I have seen have us at around mid-30 per cent,
whereas many states are performing at well over 50 per cent or higher in the
current recycling rates. A key to higher recycling rates in Western Australia
is source separation—that is what this program is all about—and
consistency in bin systems across the metropolitan area. What do I mean by ''source
separation''? Essentially, this is a three-bin system. Most metropolitan
local governments have a co-mingled recycling bin and a residual waste bin.
This program will put out a $7.5 million grant program incentive for
infrastructure and the implementation of a third bin that will be an organics
or green waste bin. This will create cleaner and higher value recycling streams
and encourage people to source separate. All their organics will go into one
bin that will go directly to composting facilities thereby not becoming
landfill. All their co-mingled recycled waste will go into the plastics, glass
and cardboard bin. Ultimately, the value from that can be extracted and
realised. The third bin will be a residual waste bin, which also has the
potential to be realised through potential waste-to-energy projects that may
get up in this state.
As I said, a $7.5 million grant program was announced earlier
this year and we have already received 23 expressions of interest from local
government councils. This program will be a significant step towards a more
consistent collection system across the metropolitan area and will also enable
and assist us to achieve far higher recycling rates. We have set very ambitious
goals for ourselves and we are well on the way to achieving them. The very day
we announced this program there were 13 000 hits on the webpage, so this is
clearly an issue of great community interest. I look forward to updating the
house as we go on.
some amusement and mirth in the chamber. Members may well remember that I
answered a similar question on waste last year in and around mattresses. I was
continually reminded of that question. Clearly, it stuck in members'
minds; in fact, I was reminded of it for the rest of the year. I have since
discovered, after doing a lot of work in the waste area, that this is certainly
an issue in the community's mind as well because when I announced a
$7.5 million grants program towards Better Bins earlier this year, Channel Seven
had to run a second story the next day because it had the single biggest number
of hits on its Facebook page for any story it has run so far. This is certainly
an issue of grave importance to the community.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : It is an issue that members perhaps should listen to closely
because, clearly, people in their communities are taking a very active interest
in this issue.
As I said, we announced a $7.5 million
grants program towards better kerbside recycling practices in local
governments. This Liberal–National government has very ambitious
recycling targets—50 per cent of our metropolitan kerbside waste being
recycled by 2015.
A significant resource value in this state every year is
landfill and opportunities to capture that through recycling is what our entire
waste strategy is about and certainly what this program is about. This state
significantly lags behind other mainland states in resource recovery rates. The
latest national tables that I have seen have us at around mid-30 per cent,
whereas many states are performing at well over 50 per cent or higher in the
current recycling rates. A key to higher recycling rates in Western Australia
is source separation—that is what this program is all about—and
consistency in bin systems across the metropolitan area. What do I mean by ''source
separation''? Essentially, this is a three-bin system. Most metropolitan
local governments have a co-mingled recycling bin and a residual waste bin.
This program will put out a $7.5 million grant program incentive for
infrastructure and the implementation of a third bin that will be an organics
or green waste bin. This will create cleaner and higher value recycling streams
and encourage people to source separate. All their organics will go into one
bin that will go directly to composting facilities thereby not becoming
landfill. All their co-mingled recycled waste will go into the plastics, glass
and cardboard bin. Ultimately, the value from that can be extracted and
realised. The third bin will be a residual waste bin, which also has the
potential to be realised through potential waste-to-energy projects that may
get up in this state.
As I said, a $7.5 million grant program was announced earlier
this year and we have already received 23 expressions of interest from local
government councils. This program will be a significant step towards a more
consistent collection system across the metropolitan area and will also enable
and assist us to achieve far higher recycling rates. We have set very ambitious
goals for ourselves and we are well on the way to achieving them. The very day
we announced this program there were 13 000 hits on the webpage, so this is
clearly an issue of great community interest. I look forward to updating the
house as we go on.
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